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Last Monday, Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album “DAMN.” while becoming the first non-jazz or classical artist ever to receive this award. Since the announcement of his win, many mixed opinions have been shared about this. People have questioned why a rapper has won this award when it has been previously given to academic, classical pieces of work. The category of “Music” for the Pulitzer Prize is described as being, “For distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year,” by the organization’s website.
“DAMN.” is the fourth album by Lamar which shares his own beliefs through his experiences. It was released on 14 April 2017 and has since won eight awards including a Grammy for “Best Rap Album.” Rolling Stone described the album as a piece in which “Lamar goes deeper into his own mind, painting blood-soaked hypotheticals and then juxtaposing them against his desires for gun control.” Each song in the album tells a story. His song “Fear” compares the anxiety between a seven-year-old being afraid of beatings from his mother to the fear of a 17-year-old scared of police brutality to his own uneasiness of fame.
“The jury listened to over a hundred and eighty pieces of music, and we deliberated, and there were a fair number of choices that could have justifiably been honored this way, but we all thought this was the best piece of music,” David Hajdu, a critic for the Pulitzer Prize for music, said. Co-finalists were Michael Gilbertson for his string “Quartet” and Ted Hearne’s cantana “Sound from the Bench.”
This historical win for Lamar is huge for the hip-hop music industry as it is the first album of that genre to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. Recently, artists have been making music with powerful messages about today’s society. On 28 April 2017 Logic released his song “1-800-273-8255” which illustrates a story of him wanting to commit suicide but then realizing he has more to live for. The title of the song is the suicide hotline number. Kesha released the song “Woman” on 13 July 2017 which exemplifies the power women hold. Lamar is on the forefront of this movement by writing his songs about black lives, police brutality, perseverance, and the values of self-worth.
Though some people are angry that a rapper has one this award, but others are glad, stating that it’s about time. People have tweeted, “But it’s also overdue considering the fact that rap started off as a form of journalism and poetry. It’s about talking about what’s happening where you come from.” Others tweeted, “The Pulitzer Prize became totally meaningless the moment I read they awarded one to a rapper for… rapping.”
For winning this award, Lamar will also receive a $15,000 prize as well. “We are very proud of this selection,” reported Dana Canedy, administrator of the Pulitzer Prize. “It shines a light on hip-hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip-hop music and a big moment for the Pulitzers.” Lamar is yet to comment on his prize.
